Why You Should Put CRM Software at the Center of Your Marketing

by | Jun 21, 2013

In the early days of CRM software the primary goal was to keep track of prospects in the sales process.  Before computers, only sales people with good written records or exceptional memories could maintain the details of the customer well enough to close the sale dependably.  Delegating the maintenance of client data to a computer leveled the playing field and allowed a minimal amount of effort from the average sales person.  Before long, sales were simply not done without a computerized record of the customer transactions.

Shortly after salespeople proved the value of keeping customer records with CRM software; it quickly began to replace old record-keeping methods for the financial and customer service departments.  Eventually every aspect of business uses some form of CRM software to do their jobs.

Market to the Right Customers

When was the last time you sat down with the data in your CRM software to determine the characteristics of your best customers?  It has probably been too long.

A gold mine of marketing effectiveness is waiting for you.  If you don’t reach out an pick up this information to guide your marketing efforts, it is like playing “pin the tail on the donkey” after someone has blindfolded you and turned you in circles several times.  You simply cannot do a good job of marketing without clearly defining your ideal target market.
Once you have determined a complete composite persona of your ideal client, you can get clear on what keeps them up at night.  After you identify their struggle, you can create a content piece that can give them information about how to resolve that pain.  At this point, your online CRM with email marketing is a great source of lead generation and lead nurturing.

Let Them Come to YOU

ith most buyers, they want to be in control of the entire buying process.  Until they have determined they have enough information to make a decision, you and your company are nothing more than a source of data.  Everything has changed.
This is bad news for the traditional marketer.  Interrupting today’s buyer with advertising is simply not useful to today’s sales process whether it is delivered online with PPC, print advertising in magazines, or your very best salesperson cold calling by phone.

Good news comes to those who have adapted to the new customer.  You can use your online CRM and marketing automation to develop an environment that supports the internet empowered customer.  From lead generation, through lead nurturing and every other aspect of the customer relationship you feed the sales lead with what they want…and they want information from you…not a sales pitch.
You give them the kind of information that is valuable even if they do not purchase your product or service.  If you have not tried this method, it sounds all wrong.  It is totally counter-intuitive to supply information to a sales lead that may not ever become a customer.  However, those that do implement this customer-focused method have clients call to place an order voluntarily when they are ready.  How nice is that?

360 degree Full Circle Marketing

We looked at today’s most successful companies.  One thing they seem to all have in common is a customer-centric approach to everything they do.  Marketing does not end when the sales transaction is completed.

The customer relationship continues to be developed when a client calls in with a question.  Good companies never say that the person with the answer will be contacted.  Happy customers do not like to wait or be passed around from one staff member to the next.  The only way this level of client-centric service can be offered is when all data silos are demolished and a 360 degree view of the customer is available to everyone who interacts with them.

With your CRM software at the center of your marketing, it allows your focus to be entirely on the goal of delighting the customer.  It is a great way to realize profit and happy staff members too.